One sky, one destiny
by AryYuna
Summary: The battle is over, the heroes have won. They can finally go home. Coda to KHII. No KHIII spoilers.


_My love letter to Kingdom Hearts, and to Riku, twelve years in the making._

_No KHIII spoilers (though I have already played it) because I've been wanting to write this story since I was seventeen and didn't want to change anything of my original plan, though it has definitely grown since I first envisioned it. I hope you'll forgive the utter self-indulgence of this whole little piece – and the liberties I'm sure I took on the plot because for the life of me I can't keep track of the ever-evolving lore._

_English isn't my first language, so if you spot any mistake don't be afraid to point them out to me, you'll be doing me a great favor!_

_The most heartfelt of thank-yous to Alessandra, my amazing friend who I asked to beta this little piece even though neither of us has English as their mother tongue and she doesn't even know the characters. She is wonderful and I don't know how she didn't try to drown me when we went to the sea together lol Love you, babe *hearts*_

* * *

**One sky, one destiny**

**Sora.**

One after the other, the Nobodies disappear, following their leader's fate, and the last of the adrenaline that has carried the two young Keyblade wielders goes with them. Sora feels dizzy, the tension leaving his body at last, his mind screaming for rest, as the Kingdom Key vanishes from his slacked fingers. It's over. Now it really is. They've _won_. And they can finally go back home, back to Kairi. (He doesn't know how, but if there's one thing he's learnt in all the time since the storm it's the power of a heart.)

He wants to close his eyes and sleep for another year, but then he sees Way to Dawn disappear too and Riku just _drops_, and that can't be happening, not when Xemnas is finally – _finally_ – dead, but one look at his eyes steals away Sora's breath, a dread cold and crushing like he's never felt before turning his muscles into hot air. It's like a switch has been flicked, and all of the determination that has kept Riku tirelessly sprinting and fighting through the castle has finally run out, leaving a weariness in its wake that has never had a place in those eyes.

It feels like an eternity before he speaks, and what he says echoes ominously in the empty vastness of swirling nothing.

"Sora. I can't."

It's all means of wrong and _obscene_ coming from Riku, because it's giving up, and Riku _doesn't give up_, and Sora shivers. He wishes the Dusks were still attacking them, so he could actually do something, but all of his power is useless in the face of an enemy that he can't smash with a giant key. He clenches his fists, feeling himself tremble with a tiredness that has nothing to do with the battle; he wants to shout at the worlds that they've fought enough, lost enough, but he's not the naive kid he was when he started his journey, and he knows it would be pointless. So he just can't be tired now, because the fight might be over, but something more important than even the worlds is still in danger: Riku's been fighting on his own for so long, he was bound to drop at some point. His body has been through enough, his heart has been through enough, and it's time for Sora – Sora, who's been flying on a ship powered by laughter and made friends with dragons, and genies, and lions, and so many people who have helped him – to step forward and carry some of that weight. Kairi has saved him with her Light in Hollow Bastion; now it's his turn to do it for Riku. So that the three of them can be together again, at last.

"Don't say another word. It's not over. It's just not." He says it with conviction, ignoring the feeling of wrongness when he swings Riku's arm around his neck and picks him up like he's suddenly the strong one. He doesn't like it. But Riku needs him and he's never needed anyone, or maybe he always has but they've been too blind to see it, so Sora doesn't even comment and just lends his strength to his friend and grits his teeth.

"How can you say that? Even if we could go on… look where we are."

"Aw, c'mon, Riku," Sora smiles as bright as he can fake. "You've been hanging out in Darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive!" he tries to cheer him up, even though they don't know how to get out of there – even though they don't even know _where_ they are – because they're finally together, and that means they can do _anything_.

Riku looks down and then back up at him, lips curved in a weak imitation of a smile that is nothing like the cocky smirks Sora remembers, but he's not giving up, so that will have to be enough for now.

"You lead," he says. Sora's stomach contracts and nausea rises in his throat – _wrong, it's wrong_ – but he nods with a confidence he doesn't feel and starts to walk, slow and steady, as Riku drags his feet and leans way too heavily on him – but Sora is strong, and he can carry him for as long as he needs.

The space around them seems to contract and expand in a dizzying dance, and Sora isn't sure they're even moving at all, but his steps don't falter and his hold on his friend doesn't slip – never again, he swears. (The wrist he's holding is definitely broken, and Sora has a hard time gripping tight enough to keep his friend from falling without hurting him, and feels a surge of annoyance that Riku hasn't said a word and just fought like nothing was wrong even though it must've hurt like hell. A part of him is even impressed. But he's mostly pissed.)

Riku keeps his head tilted down, his hair falling over and covering his eyes, and his voice is low when he speaks again.

"You know? I've always figured I was better at stuff than you." It feels like a confession, an unfathomable sin he seeks redemption for. As if it wasn't true, as if the entire Island couldn't see it clear as day how no one could ever be in the same league as Riku. "Are you mad?" Riku asks, and Sora wants to laugh.

"Nah, I kinda always thought you were better at everything too."

And Riku snorts what could even sound like a short laugh, and being stuck in that weird, timeless plane of non-existence doesn't seem so hopeless anymore.

(KH)

The light is sudden and out of place, but they follow it anyway, and it isn't really light after all, but the change of scenery is a welcome respite after the confusing vortex of greys they've been wandering in for what feels like hours.

The moon shines sinister on the black sea, a cold light in a world of Darkness.

"End of the road."

"Yep."

The air is heavy, the sand of that eerie beach coarse and dry even where the waves touch it. Somewhere in his heart, Roxas holds his breath, remembering a dark corridor, Xemnas waiting for him in a black coat, _Number XIII_, Axel, the clock tower, the ice cream, the battle with Riku. (Her.)

Sora shivers and tightens his hold on Riku, who smiles in what is meant to be a reassuring way.

"Put me down. I can walk."

Once upon a time, he would have smirked and teased, but he wouldn't have been that pale under too long hair, there wouldn't have been lines of pain too deep to ever heal around his mouth and dark circles under his eyes. He wouldn't have been so exhausted to need Sora to carry him in the first place. (Roxas knows he should hate Riku, but he can't bring himself to. He only feels pity. Because he understands.)

Sora doesn't feel very confident, but still lets slowly go of his friend. And because it is Riku, who's fought with a broken wrist and taken a hit meant to kill Sora and then battled a horde of Dusks afterwards like it was nothing, he manages to stand on his own after just the briefest faltering. Sora smiles looking up at his best friend, because it's the first thing that makes sense since forever, and pretends not to notice the way the silver hair still hide Riku's bright eyes, as if he's trying to hide himself.

Bare trees stand like shadows against the night, reaching out to the ghostly moon; thin cracks in the rocks send faint glares that can't imitate proper lights. Sora takes a few steps forward, taking in the unnervingly beautiful scenery, inhaling air that feels like poison. Feeling crushed.

_Maybe the Darkness has gotten to me too._

The memory of Destiny Island feels so far away that it's almost like a dream. (It's almost like the flashes of white walls that he swears he's never seen in his life but still remembers sometimes.) Has he really been a kid on vacation who wanted to explore the worlds on a raft? It seems so silly now. The wooden swords, the races to the star, the bright bright sun, did they really exist? Do they still? The cold air around him is a bit too still to register as pleasant, the landscape a twisted imitation of the beach he remembers growing up on. He feels like he can't breathe.

A soft thud makes him jump and turn around, where his friend lay unmoving, exhaustion finally taking over. Sora runs back to his side, skidding to a stop as Riku tries to get up again, and even the memory of warm days vanishes in the face of the bleak present.

"This world is perfect for me." His voice isn't really meant to be heard, but Sora is too close, and still not close enough because Riku still feels far away like he's been since closing that damn door more than a year ago – since before that, since the storm that has taken away their Island. "If this is what world really is… just this… then maybe I should fade back into the Darkness."

Sora wants to puke. He wants to shake Riku and scream in his face that it's over, and why are you still so _far_, we're supposed to be together now, _invincible_, and go back to Kairi…

He mutters Riku's name, feeling old and tired – and too small and impossibly young to have the power to do anything of importance, no matter what lies everybody has been feeding him since he got the Keyblade.

"If the world is made of Light and Darkness… we'll be the Darkness."

Riku has always been more mature than him – more mature than all of the kids of the Island. Even as children, he was the only one to ask questions after Kairi had been washed ashore without family, without memories. The only one to understand what it meant. _If you hadn't come here, I probably would have never thought of any of this_, he said. Sora felt stupid. He often did, when Riku spoke.

He feels twice more stupid now, trapped in the Realm of Darkness with no means to leave, alone with that best friend he's been searching for for months and who looks older and wiser than any kid their age ever should. He should probably just be glad they're both alive. It is more than he should have realistically hoped for, really.

"Yeah. The other side. The Realm of Light is safe, now. Kairi, the king and the others are there." It hurts to say that. But it's _right_.

"That's what I mean," Riku breathes, and maybe he's smiling, or maybe he's just resigned and as sad as Sora. The sand under them is cold, but if he doesn't look it might even feel like the Island at night.

Riku finally looks at him, though it's between strands of hair that still make it impossible to read his expression in the dark.

"Hey, Sora? Could you help me? I want to get down to the water." It's a whisper, because Riku doesn't ask for help, and even the nothing around them mustn't hear his weakness. But Sora nods and jumps up, wraps an arm around his friend's back, Riku's arm around his shoulders, and Riku gives up all pretense of being able to walk and just lets himself be dragged to the foreshore. His eyes are closed.

"At least the waves sound the same."

(KH)

Sora's eyes are on the endless black sky, the sweat of the battle finally drying on his skin, his tired muscles resting at last, that strange water lapping at his feet. He could fall asleep then and there, and maybe he should – who knows how long the reprieve will last, he should rest while he can – but he has missed his beach so much that even that aberrant imitation makes him want to absorb every unnatural detail and not miss a single breath of that smoky sea. He briefly wishes that Kairi was there with them and immediately feels ashamed for thinking that – Kairi is pure light, she has no place in the Darkness. It's a relief when Riku speaks again, though his voice is still hushed, tentative where it's always been steely.

"What I said back there, about thinking I was better at stuff than you…" He pauses, as if asking for permission to go on.

"Hmm?"

"To tell you the truth, Sora, I was jealous of you."

It's so absurd Sora almost bursts out laughing. _Riku_? Jealous of _him_?

"What for?" he asks, genuinely curious about that guy he's known his whole life and now feels like a stranger.

"I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart."

_Riku_ wants to be _Sora_. But sure, in a wrong world where the water isn't wet and the moon doesn't light up the darkness of an everlasting night, what is one more nonsense?

"Yeah, well, I've got my share of problems too." He shakes his head, wondering if maybe he has fallen asleep, after all, and is now dreaming. Somehow, he knows not even his subconscious could ever make up anything _that_ crazy.

"Like what?"

Like there's any need to ask. But he spells it out anyway, because maybe Riku has forgotten something too, in the white corridors that haunt his dreams even if he doesn't remember.

"Like wanting to be like you."

"Hmm." And he seems to actually be mulling over that answer. "Well, there is one advantage to being me. Something you could never imitate."

Just one thing? He blinks, and looks up at Riku, but he can't see the other's expression.

"Really? What is that?"

"Having you for a friend."

It's been almost two years since the storm, two years in which they've barely seen each other, but what could two years do in the face of destiny?

"Then I guess… I'm okay the way I am. I've got something you could never imitate too."

There are no stars in the sky. No sound but the soft waves. He tries to touch them with his hands, and they feel like nothing and yet chill him to the bone.

Riku has his eyes closed behind the curtain of too long hair. Sora wants to cut it to the length he's worn since they were toddlers, in a desperate attempt to rewind time; but they're both a foot taller than they were the night of the storm, their shoulders are broader, their voices deeper. Riku is still bigger than him, though, and the most childish part of him hopes that never changes. He closes his eyes too and breathes in trying to remember what the sea smells like.

He maybe falls asleep, because when Riku gives him the letter he has to blink twice before realizing there's an empty glass bottle by their feet that wasn't there before and Kairi's fine writing covering the piece of paper.

_Thinking of you, wherever you are…_

She'd forgotten him too. And yet, he'd still been in her heart.

_One sky, one destiny._

"Light."

"The Door to Light."

There's reverence in Riku's voice, and just plain incredulity in his, but when the Door opens he jumps up, and then reaches down to his friend. "We'll go together." _I'm not leaving you ever again_, he thinks. And Riku looks at him. And nods. And takes his hand.

_Kairi, we're coming_.

* * *

**Mickey.**

It isn't the first time he travels through a dark corridor, but it is the first time he does it unafraid. The world on the other side is sunny, the air warm but not stifling, and there's the sound of waves and seagulls flying in the clear sky; a waterfall overlooking the vast blue sea, luxuriant vegetation with flowers he's never seen in all of his travels, sand so fine it looks almost like silk. He remembers this world, he came here with Aqua – in the Realm of Darkness, before it was restored. But now it's so bright and different from his memory, and so distant from the Organization's world, that Mickey takes a moment to close his eyes and realize that _they did it_. But then Kairi screams Sora and Riku's name, and the corridor vanishes, and the two boys are trapped on the other side. Alone.

_Not again_, he thinks, dismayed, thinking of when the door of Xemnas' fake Kingdom Hearts had closed in their faces, separating him and Kairi from their friends – thinking of losing Riku in the Realm of Darkness upon sealing it, and again after reuniting with him in Castle Oblivion, and then in Twilight Town, and…

Mickey clenches his fists and meets the equally anguished eyes of Donald and Goofy: they can't leave the Island unless they call Chip and Dale, and there's no way a gummiship can get there fast enough and then to the World Than Never Was in time – assuming Riku and Sora are still there. He looks up at Kairi, maybe to offer empty words of comfort, maybe to find some himself, but he only sees calm in her demeanor, and steel in her eyes.

"They're strong," she says, and her voice doesn't falter. "They'll be back." Her eyes shine bright as they stare in the distance; and he is reminded that she's a Princess of Heart, a being of pure Light; her power exceeds that of Yen Sid himself, though it's easy to forget, seeing her so young, so meek.

Mickey breathes deeply, his eyes closed to regain composure, and then nods at the girl.

She looks down at him, and smiles.

"I wanted to thank you, Your Majesty."

It feels so sudden – and ridiculous – that Mickey is taken aback.

"What for?" There's nothing Kairi should ever thank him for. If anything, she should demand that he apologizes, and even that would serve nothing. He's failed them all: his subjects, the worlds; Aqua, still imprisoned in the Realm of Darkness, Terra, still lost, Ven, asleep and unaware, and Riku, and Sora… He's failed as a king, but more importantly, he's failed as a friend.

"For being there for Riku when we couldn't." The sun shining on them tinges her hair gold. Her smile is tiny, almost ethereal. Unearthly.

He shakes his head.

"If anything, it is I that should thank you, Naminé." Waking up one day to Riku gone had scared him: the kid was so full of regret Mickey was sure he would do something stupid in the silly effort to redeem himself – as if he needed to, after condemning himself to the Realm of Darkness to help his friend close the Door, after fighting the Seeker of Darkness in Castle Oblivion, after refusing to go back to the Island (to Kairi, to life) and instead choosing to keep fighting, keep suffering. Mickey's heart had cried for him, for his own inability to help with the burden the too young boy had chosen to carry. Knowing he hadn't been completely alone during that long year gave him a modicum of relief; though it never canceled the guilt over his failure to shield the boy from all the pain he'd chosen to face on his own.

"Riku did for me way more than he let me do for him." Kairi's voice is soft as she speaks Naminé's regret.

Mickey chuckles, sad.

"Yeah, that sounds like him." And yet, they've been there for each other when no-one else has. He is more grateful to Naminé than he can ever express – probably more than he has any right to be.

(KH)

The sun moves lazily through the sky, painting longer shadows on the bright sand; the warm breeze gently blows through their clothes and Kairi's hair as they sit on the beach. They don't know when or how their wait will end, and he can see his friends growing restless with worry. The young Princess has tried to open a dark corridor using Naminé's power, but there's too much Light in her for such a paradox to be possible; she now stares right ahead, at the sea turning red as the sunset approaches, and hasn't moved an inch in more than an hour; her expression is intent, her heart glows so bright it's almost blinding when Mickey tries to look her in the eye. It's like she isn't really there but with her friends, fighting by their side, wherever they are.

When she jumps to her feet, she startles them all, breath caught as she looks up at the sky, at the two bright lights that, like comets, are falling towards the horizon.

"That's them!" Donald shouts running to the foreshore, but Mickey stands back, looking at Kairi.

"Something's wrong," she mutters almost too low for him to hear, but he can soon see it for himself: the two lights crash into the sea, and take what feels like an eternity to finally re-emerge.

Kairi looses her composure as she runs past Donald and Goofy and splashes into the water to meet with her friends halfway. Mickey watches, horrified, as she helps an increasingly anxious Sora carry Riku between them. The older boy doesn't respond to their calls, doesn't react when they carefully deposit him onto the still warm sand, head in Kairi's lap, Sora's hands hovering uncertainly over his irresponsive form. Donald and Goody stand by, hesitant, looking as lost as the two kids.

Mickey grits his teeth and kneels at the unconscious kid's side, feeling Riku's Light flicker, and his Darkness overshadowed by something else, something that isn't quite the stench of the Seeker that he's come to know all too well.

"Was he hit?" he asks calmly. He is a king and a Keyblade Master, there's no place for frantic panic in his life; not when his friends need an anchor. Not when Riku's life is in danger.

Sora flinches, and when he answers his eyes are averted in shame.

"To protect me," he whispers. Mickey nods, distantly thinking _of course he would_, as his hands deftly run over Riku's body, checking for injuries. And there it is, on his left side, a wide patch of black that looks almost like a burn, with dark tendrils extending over pale skin toward his heart. He hears disturbed gasps from his friends, sees Sora's trembling. "I didn't know," the kid breathes, and his voice shakes. "He didn't say anything. I thought he was just _tired_," and he's not even justifying himself to them – as if there was any _need_ – he's just ranting at himself for not noticing, for not _fixing_ it.

"There was nothing you could have done. A dark wound like this can't be healed by regular magic."

Both kids start at his words, twin frightened expressions on their faces.

"No…" Sora begins, a breath more than a word, a desperate prayer, and Mickey hastens to grab his hands and squeeze reassuringly.

"But Light magic can do it." He looks at Kairi, who frowns, her hands in Riku's hair.

"But I can't use magic…" she counters, distressed, lost.

"Of course you can!" Mickey encourages her with a wide smile that he hopes doesn't look as forced as it feels. "You're one of the Princesses, your magic comes from your heart." He looks at Donald and Goofy, and that's enough for them to get in action: Goofy gently guides Sora a few steps away from his friends, as Donald takes his place and offers a hand to Kairi. On Riku's other side, Mickey does the same.

"We'll guide you."

He can feel Kairi's uncertainty, Sora's barely restrained fear, and above them all his own anxiety to act as fast as possible: they've been waiting on that beach for hours, who knew at what point the wound has occurred, how long it has gone untreated.

Donald asks him a silent question, and he nods with the confidence of a king, even though last time this has occurred – because it has, and it has been devastating, and Mickey has sworn it would never happen again, _but here they are _– he was powerless to do anything and had to drag the teen to his gummiship and fly as fast as he could to his reign, the closest place he could think of where they would find help. He is ashamed to admit, if only in the secrecy of his mind, that he chose his world because he needed Minnie even more than Riku did, in that moment.

Minnie is too far now, though, and Kairi's power of Light has never been used like that, she's never learnt to control it. But the dark wound is expanding, and they have to do something now.

Bending a Light so pure is way beyond what even he and his royal magician can do, so all they can do is gently point her in the right direction, each holding one of her hands, their bodies enveloped in her raw power. When the Light touches the dark wound, Riku's scream tears into them all like a hot knife, head pushed back in Kairi's lap, back arched in pain. It's so unexpected even Donald flinches, his questioning eyes searching those of his king, but he doesn't let go of the girl's hand when she gasps and tries to get free. Mickey shivers in horror as the scream rips their hearts; he hoped this time would be different, that the Light magic of a Princess would spare him the pain he's had to endure by Minnie's unwilling hand. But the Darkness keeps hurting that boy over and over, even when he should finally be free, even after he's won yet again. He is vaguely aware of Goofy having to physically restrain Sora so he doesn't interfere; Kairi is crying, her precarious control faltering, and Donald grabs Mickey's other hand so they can strengthen the Light circle. His hand is shaking.

Riku's scream stops for as long as it takes him to draw a short, shaky breath, only to resume just as desperate, an obscene sound coming from that boy who's defeated Darkness again and again.

"I'm hurting him," Kairi sobs, trying to pull back, and both Mickey and his royal magician tighten their hold on her.

"You're healing him," he counters, hoping she can't hear the fear in his voice.

"He's in pain!"

"It's not you." _It's your Light_, he doesn't say. "It's the Darkness." And it's still strong, even though the Seeker's presence has been destroyed by the explosion of Ansem's machine. Part of it is just the dark wound; but the rest is Riku's nature, just like his Light. But Kairi's Light burns too bright for a being of the Dawn.

The screams rip into the night, becoming hoarser with the passing minutes – hours, days, years – reducing to moans when he lacks the energy for more; he jerks on the ground, a weak and uncoordinated flailing of too heavy limbs, a useless attempt to break free of the agony. Slowly, way too slowly for Mickey's peace of mind, the power of the Princess consumes the ink-like black of the wound, shrinking it, leaving the skin bruised and reddened in its wake, but whole. Riku's movements grow more sluggish until, at last, he stills, spent, brow scrunched in pain, hair soaked with sweat.

The Light dies down as well, and Kairi's hands pull away and shakily return to cradle his temples, her body curling forward as if to protect herself – as if to protect him; Sora breaks free of Goofy's hold and staggers to his friends. Dried and fresh tears streak both kids' faces.

"Is he… okay?" Sora's voice is small, uncertain. Scared like a hero of the Keyblade isn't supposed to be. (A hero of the Keyblade shouldn't be fifteen and this innocent.) Donald lightly puts a hand on his arm, searching his king's face for reassurance.

"He will be," Mickey smiles, because that's what all of them expect of him – their king, their senior Keyblade wielder, their guide. "A dark wound like that doesn't just disappear, but he's strong, and with rest he will be just fine." He repeats the same words Minnie told him a year ago, when he showed up in Disney Castle with a wounded Riku on his ship and a terror he hadn't felt in ages in his heart.

Sora reaches out a hand, and then seems to reconsider, afraid to touch, afraid to hurt. In the end he lays it on the bandaged wrist, gently, so as not to jostle yet another wound Riku didn't tell any of them about. Mickey noticed the bandage on the body of the Seeker in the Organization's castle, the way the kid instinctively tried to not move the wrist too much, though watching him fight one wouldn't tell. He wonders when he has gotten it – if anyone has been there for him. Certainly not Ansem, he reflects bitterly, thinking of his old friend becoming so consumed by rage to be blind to others' pain. Maybe Naminé. (_Riku did for me way more than he let me do for him._) He shudders and tells himself it's the wind.

The moon plays hide and seek with the swaying palm leaves; the stars shine bright, worlds finally at peace now that the last of the Organization has been defeated. He searches for the luminous dot that is Disney Town, and fiercely misses home; and yet he still can't bring himself to call Chip and Dale, even now that the danger is passed. He can't leave. Not until Riku wakes up. Not until he's sure that the kid is okay. Not until… He looks at Donald and Goofy, feeling guilty, feeling he should finally let them go back home, return to their loved ones whom they've abandoned by order of their king; but they're both looking at Sora, his worry mirrored on their faces. The royal knight briefly raises his eyes onto Mickey and nods. He averts his eyes.

The sound of the waves lazily counts the hours away. Riku lays unmoving, his head still cushioned on Kairi's folded legs, her fingers gently caressing his hair; Sora sits on the older boy's left side, holding his hand, oblivious to his own fatigue; Donald and Goofy flank their protégé, patiently waiting. Mickey takes them all in, his eyes finally resting on that kid of Light and Darkness that he once believed to be an impossibility, but that proved time and time again that his heart is stronger than anything.

When Riku finally stirs, they perk up as one, holding their breath. His eyelids flutter, brow drawn in pain, and then slowly open; his blue-green eyes roam unfocused, taking in his surrounding between lethargic blinks.

"We… made it?" It's a question, as if he doesn't dare to believe. He looks at Sora, and then slowly raises his gaze onto Kairi.

"We're back," Sora confirms, a smile so intense it could light the Realm of Darkness.

"You're home," the girl echoes, and tears of joy drop from her eyes on the silver hair she's still carding her fingers through. She isn't the only one crying: Sora joins her soon, and Mickey can see Riku's eyes shine, though even weakened he's too stubborn to let himself go.

His eyes sting a little too, but he shakes himself and stands to give the teens the space they deserve; it's probably time to leave anyway, at last. On the foreshore, he calls his Keyblade and raises it to the stars, reaching out with his heart to his reign. The ray of light shines bright and then disappears, and from then it's just another wait. (One that he hopes isn't too short, because he's still not ready to leave, though he can never admit it to anyone.)

When he turns back to the others, they're all looking at him, their attention drawn by the light of the Keyblade.

"Mickey?" Riku's voice is soft in the quiet; he briefly tries to sit up, but the hold Sora hasn't relinquished on his hand is enough to make him give up. His pale skin looks almost translucent in the moonlight.

The mouse king walks back to them, kneeling at Riku's other side and taking his free hand.

"You were hurt. Kairi healed you, but you need to take it easy for a while," he feels the need to explain, more to fill the silence than because it's really needed. (More to prevent himself from speaking words that are better left unsaid.)

Riku nods, a barely-there movement of his head. His smirk is just as fleeting, but Mickey still snorts: last time this happened, after curing the dark wound with her Light magic, Minnie had told the boy he needed rest, and his answer had been to get up early and get dressed before anyone else in the Castle was even awake; and then promptly pass out just outside of the bedroom's door.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of him," Kairi assures, and Sora echoes with a heartfelt "Yeah!" that has Donald scoff in disbelief and Goofy chuckle. Riku, though, is still looking at him.

"Thank you," he whispers, and it is the second time that day that Mickey is thanked by a kid he feels he's only let down, and it's all he can do to suppress the bitter laugh that threatens to erupt. Riku doesn't give him the chance to object, though, cause his hand tightens its hold more than his debilitated state should allow, and when he speaks again his voice sounds stronger. "I mean it. For everything."

Mickey nods, wishing he could say so much more, and watches as heavy eyelids slip down again to cover tired blue-green eyes.

Kairi's fingers move delicately through the fine hair; Sora affectionately caresses the hand he's holding. Their eyes interlock above their sleeping friend's form, drinking in each other's presence. And Mickey knows he's wearing the same loving expression he can see on his royal magician and captain.

(KH)

The wind picking up is the only sign of the silent gummiship descending on the beach, but it is enough that all three kids raise suddenly alert eyes on their companions. The air feels colder.

"So… you're leaving." Sora's words are colored with sadness. Donald and Goofy exchange equally rueful looks and then nod before opening their arms to embrace the kid between them, holding tightly for as long as they dare. The captain then hugs Kairi as well and gives a brief pat on Riku's shoulder; the magician, less expansive, just smiles and says goodbyes.

"We'll see each other again," Mickey asserts, and while he's speaking to all three kids, his eyes linger on Riku. They all know they will probably have to meet for more battles, for that is the destiny of Keyblade wielders, but neither want to paint in that promise in bitterness. So the three just nod, and Mickey finally gets up and boards the ship with his companions, stealing a short last look behind him as the ramp closes.

They take their seats, more subdued than any of them imagined their return home to feel, while Chip and Dale prepare the engine for take-off.

"Queen Minnie will be happy to see you again," Donald says way more cheerfully than his eyes show, his attention on his friends in an effort to lighten the mood of all three of them. "And I finally get to see Daisy!"

"Oh, I wonder how Max is doing, he must have grown so much," Goofy echoes. He pauses briefly before adding, "Leaving a child behind is always hard. But I'm sure he will be okay. He's a strong kid." And maybe it's just the long days, the continuous fights, the worry and the fear of the last few hours, but he doesn't sound like he's talking about Max anymore – or himself, for that matter. Mickey looks up at Goofy, and the captain's eyes bore into the king's, full of understanding.

Mickey smiles. And thinks of home.

* * *

**Kairi.**

They watch as the ship disappears into the starry sky, leaving a wake that shines like a comet in reverse. She feels sad in a way she can't really justify with the departure of those friends she barely knows, but it's the sorrow of the two boys at her side that echoes in her heart like her own. And yet, among the grief, she can't help but be happy too, now that Riku is out of danger, at finally being home and reunited with her two best friends. She has missed them so much; even when she couldn't remember Sora, her heart had ached for him. She drinks in their sight and drowns in their presence, and doesn't want to lose them ever again. Her world is finally complete.

(KH)

Lulled by her caresses, Riku is fading fast in her lap, the wound healed but the toll it's taken on his body too much to just be brushed aside; by his side, Sora is still holding his hand and trying to keep his own eyes open despite the weariness he is clearly feeling after the fight – after two long years of fighting. She can't help a fond smile. (Inside her, Naminé smiles too, her love finally finding a heart to exist.)

"We should go," she says softly, her voice low so as not to disturb the quiet of the night.

Sora blinks at her, and his eyes are hesitant, though they both know their parents must be worried sick – his more than hers, since he's been away for so long, and forgotten in a way that shouldn't be possible for half that time. (She was on the Island when Sora woke up worlds away, she remembers what it felt like for all of their friends, for his family, for everyone who'd ever known to suddenly remember his existence. She remembers the horror. And she feels guilty at wanting to condemn his family to live in the nightmare of his absence for even the few more hours, but she can't bring herself to separate from her boys yet. _Just until the dawn_, she tells herself. _Just a little longer._)

"We can sleep in the shack," she smiles. They've done it so many times before, during that childhood that seems so far away – farther than it has any right to be to any teenager. Any other teenager who isn't a Keyblade wielder or a Princess of Heart. Her hands tremble as they keep caressing Riku's hair, reassuring herself that he's better now, that he will be back to normal soon.

(They will never be normal.)

Sora nods, somewhat relieved; he doesn't want to leave them either.

Riku is too out of it to complain when Kairi slips out of under him and slides his arm around her shoulder while Sora does the same on the older boy's other side. He's way too big for either of them to properly pick him up, but they manage to keep him vertical and drag him toward the cabin without faltering, arms wrapped around his back in an embrace so tight they feel like one.

"We got you," Sora whispers to the other boy's ear.

They delicately lay him on the ground and then she goes to rummage through the small crate that acts like a cupboard for all the toys and stuff they've accumulated in the years of playing on the small island. She wonders whether the kids still go there; she knows Selphie and the others haven't for a while.

"Here." She returns to Sora with the lumpy pillows she remembers making as one of her first sewing projects, grinning at the way he snorts a small laugh before taking them and gently slipping one under Riku's head.

"You should sleep too," she gently cajoles. He looks older, and not just physically; there's a purpose to his usually exuberant manners and a calm drive in his eyes that have never been there before. He told her she'd changed, but she feels the only one who's stayed a kid – stayed behind.

(_Sora, don't ever change._)

"I think there are blankets too, if you're cold," she adds when his only answer is to keep staring alternatively at her and Riku as if he's afraid they're gonna disappear any time now. She understands, because she feels the same.

He shakes his head, and then lays down on the second pillow next to Riku, his face turned towards his friends.

"I haven't lost it," he says after a minute of just staring at the two of them, and his hand goes to dig through his pants pocket. And Kairi feels her breath catch when he reaches over Riku's form to give her the small star made of five seashells sewn together: her lucky charm. Then his eyes slowly close, a serene smile on his lips.

Through the wooden boards she can see the moon, the sea waves whisper behind the closed door. She eyes the staircase leading upstairs, to the bridge that connects the small papou islet where they used to watch the sunset. She wants to sit on the tree between Sora and Riku again, look at the sun bathing the endless sea in red, talk of distant worlds they want to explore. (But they've seen the other worlds now, and the grim reality has crushed their childish dreams.)

She knows things can't go back to what they were; she knows there are still battles to fight ahead of them. But as she holds her lucky charm like she's held Destiny's Embrace in the Organization's Castle, she thinks she's ready. She's stronger, now; she won't let her boys fight alone. She will be right by their side.

She is a princess with no castle, but in her shack two princes sleep as she keeps vigil.

(KH)

When she returns after a brief trip to the papou islet, the two boys are awake and talking in soft voices. They look up at her as she descends the stairs, Riku propped up against the wall, Sora by his side, right where he should be.

"It's almost dawn," she tells them. It's almost time to get separated. But… just for a while. Just so the two of them can get reacquainted with their parents again, with the Island, with their home. They will be together again, and this time it will be forever.

(Sora looks up at her, and he and Roxas smile at Naminé, smile at her. _We'll be together every day_. Gold streaks the red of her hair as she smiles back.)

Kairi comes to sit in front of them, reaching out her hands to reveal the treasure she's picked up: a starshaped fruit, already split in three pieces.

(KH)

In the Secret Place, the Door to Darkness has vanished; on the wall next to where it once stood, tree children's faces are drawn in white chalk on the grey rock: a boy with spiky hair extends a hand holding a star to the girl in front of him and another to the long-haired boy just above; the two other figures complete the sort of triangle giving stars of their own to each other and to the spiky-haired boy.

* * *

_Kingdom Hearts has a special place in my heart. I'm (technically) an adult, now, and yet I can't stop playing it, and smiling at the dialogues I know by memory, and loving everything. Dearly Beloved is still my go-to song when I'm feeling down and I need to relax and stop thinking._

_I've been away from the active fandom for a few years, but it has never been away from me._

_Hope you enjoyed it *hearts*_


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